Electric time-dial



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C. A. COLBY & J. G. STRONG. ELECTRIC TIME DIAL.

No. 424,273. Patented Mar. 25, 1890.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES A. COLBY AND JAMES C. STRONG, OF BUFFALO, NEV YORK.

ELECTRIC TIME-DIAL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 424,273, dated March25, 1890.

Application filed August 7,1889. Serial No. 319,975! (Modeh) To all whomit may concern:

Be it known that we, CHARLES A. COLBY and JAMES C. STRONG, citizens ofthe United States, residing at the city of Buffalo, county of Erie, andState of New York, have invented a new and useful Electric Dial, ofwhich the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to an improvement in electric dials; and itconsists of a magnet or magnets, an armature, a toothed wheel, anoscillating lever with two arms integral with it, and a frame inconnection with the neoessary wheels, dial, hands, &e., usually usedwith a clock.

The object of our invention is to greatly simplify the mechanismrequired to operate electric dials, and thus greatly cheapen theirmanufacture. Ye attain these objects by the mechanism as shown in theaccompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a front view, Fig. 2, aback View, and Fig. 3 a vertical section.

Like letters represent like parts.

A A represent two electro-magnets; B, the armature; G, the oscillatinglever; C and 0 two projecting arms integral with the oscillating lever;C pointed centers; D, toothed wheel upon which the arms of theoscillating lever act; D, arbor of said wheel; E, cannolrpiniong F,minute-wheel and pin ion; G, hounwheel; II, frame; H, cross-bar toframe.

The mechanism operates follows: hen used as a secondary dial, acircuit-closer is attached to a standard-clock, so as to close thecircuit once a minute, and from thence connected with all the dials inthe usual manner, and once a minute magnetizes the magnets A A. Thearmature B, which is attached to the bottom of the oscillating lever O,is immediately drawn up to the magnets A A, forcing the projecting arm.0 against the lower edge of the wheel D, (which in the mechanism nowdescribed has sixty teetln) moving said wheel forward in direction ofthe arrow one-half of a tooth. The contact of the circuit-closer is onesecond, and when it opens the armature B and oscillating lever 0 fall bytheir own weight, and the projecting arm 0 strikes the upper side of thewheel D, again moving it forward one-half of a tooth. Thus the contactand fall of the armature, by moving the oscillating arm 0 and theprojecting arms 0 and C moves the wheel I) forward one tooth, and as theminute-hand on the dial is attached to the arbor D, this movementnecessarily moves the minutedland one minute forward on the dial. Thecannon-pinion E, being attached to the arbor D, carries the minute-wheelF, and the pinion on said minute-wheel carries the hour-wheel G, towhich the hour-hand on the dial is attached, and is thus moved forwardat the proper speed upon the dial.

\Vhen our invention is used as a primary clock, it is attached by acircuit-closer to an electric pendulum, so that the circuit is closedonce a minute and operated therefrom the same as is described above.

The teeth on the wheel D are of such shape as to allow the hands on thedial to be moved backward at will for the purpose of setting the handsat pleasure.

\Ve are aware that electric clocks and dials have been made for thepurpose of telling time, and we therefore do not claim such combinationor device broadly; but no such device, so far as we are able toascertain, embodies the mechanical principle embodied in the mechanismof our invention, or its simplicity and cheapness of manufacture. Saidprinciple of motion can be used for other purposes than for tellingtime.

lVe therefore claim and desire to secure by Letters Patentl. Thecombination, with the dial-train of a time-piece, of a ratchet-actuatingwheel, a lever pivoted to vibrate in a plane perpendicular to the planeof such wheel and having pallets to alternately engage and actuate thesame, and an electric magnet controlled from a primary clock to actuatesuch lever, substantially as described.

2. An oscillating lever with arms having pallets, said lever, arms, andpallets being integral with each other, working at right angles with theplane of a wheel and perpendicular to its center, in combination withsaid wheel, a magnet or magnets, and the wheels, pinions, dial, hands,&c., usually used with a clock, the whole adapted to operate said handsas the circuit through the magnet is made and broken, substantially asdescribed,

CHARLES A. COLBY. JAMES (J. STRONG.

Witnesses:

HENRY W. BRENDEL, (J, LOUIS Farrz.

